The advent and subsequent expansion of the Internet has tremendously expanded the opportunity of organizations and individuals to exchange ideas and information, widely disseminate knowledge generally, express opinions. With the Internet have come various new technologies for providing information and expressing opinions. On-line forums facilitate discussions on a broad range of topics.
At various Websites publicly-available Web logs, or “blogs,’ can be accessed that typically provide information or commentary on various subjects. A blog can provide text and images, as well as links to other blogs or media related to a particular topic. A blog also can allow someone accessing the blog on-line to record comments in an interactive format, thereby gaining the opportunity to disseminate those comments to a wider audience when others visit the same. The community orientation of many such Websites is carried forward by so-called wikis. A wiki comprises computer software enabling a user to create, edit and link web pages. As such, wikis can be used to create collaborative websites. Wikis are also increasingly being installed by commercial and other organizations as a mechanism for providing affordable and effective Intranets.
Undoubtedly, the value of the exchange of information through the Internet—and, indeed, that of any open communication network—is strongly correlated with the accuracy and authenticity of the information provided. If erroneous information is widely disseminated before it can be verified to be inaccurate that value can be significantly eroded. So, too, when opinion masquerades as fact unless timely discovered to mere opinion, the value of open exchange can be adversely affected. A simple expression of opinion can be a valuable attribute of exchanges of information over the Internet. Without any mechanism for ascertaining the credentials of those expressing opinions, all opinions are weighted equally. An opinion about the entertainment value of a film or book in all likelihood deserves such treatment. Opinions about more weighty matters, however, such as the interpretation of an experimental result, or the value of various global warming strategies, could certainly be enhanced by understanding the basis of a particular individual's opinion or viewpoint. For example, the view or opinion of someone holding a PhD in physics from a recognized university, may in some contexts be may be more credible and hence deserving of more consideration than someone not holding such a credential.
The difficulty, however, is that to date there are few if any effective or efficient mechanisms by which consumers of network-based information can reliably determine the bona fides of a source of information supplied over an open network.